President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday addressed the Climate Change conference and unveiled plans to issue green bonds to raise climate funds.
The country also planned to reduce emissions by 20 per cent by the year 2030, with the intention of raising the target to 45 per cent, with the support of the international community.
President Muhammadu Buhari raised the stakes on Tuesday in his statement at the 22nd Session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) taking place in Marrakech, Morocco.
“We have reflected our determination for green growth in my country’s ambitious Intended Nationally Determined Contribution.
“This is one of Africa’s most ambitious Intended Nationally Determined Contributions – covering all emissions from all parts of the economy.”
According to the President, Nigeria has no choice but to key into the global action on climate change.
President Buhari and Mrs Amina Mohammed at the climate confab “In Nigeria for instance, the impact is being felt by the more than 2.1 million people displaced by devastating floods that the country has continued to suffer since 2012,’’ he said.
President Buhari’s Nigeria climate agenda was relayed in a statement issued in Abuja by Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.
President Buhari, declared the resolve of Nigeria to ensure that policies put in place to address climate change would make the country emerge as one of the world’s best examples of how reducing emissions could benefit the environment and the economy.
“We cannot afford to wait until 2020. We are already making far reaching changes in all sectors of our economy, including through substantially increasing the use of climate smart agriculture and diversification of our energy mix through renewable and efficient gas power.’’
He said that the changes also included creating more efficient, cleaner and lower-carbon oil and gas sector, especially through a gas to energy programme and initiating the implementation of clean-up of the Ogoni-Land in the Niger-Delta region.
“If not addressed by 2050, the human and financial cost would be colossal.
“For us in Nigeria, the larger dimension of the challenge goes beyond emission rights. Survival rights are also at stake.”
He equally reminded the gathering of the agreement at the 71st session of the UN General Assembly that climate threats and security threats go hand in hand and called for concerted efforts on them.
“The Lake Chad Basin for example, has shrunk to a mere 10 per cent of its original size, and this has seriously affected the livelihood of over five million people and contributed to the growth of insecurity in the region, including the emergence of Boko Haram as a terrorist group.
“Hence the urgent need to resuscitate Lake Chad. In this regard, I seize this opportunity to express gratitude and appreciation to those who have responded to our call and to encourage other well-meaning partners to join in our efforts to revive the Lake Chad Basin,” President Buhari said.
He expressed the readiness of Nigeria to join hands for the change that the whole world was working toward.
